Soldier Pills and Chocolate Ice Cream
by hypereuni
Summary: Sakura can taste whatever her soulmate is eating and drinking, even when she's not even eating anything, and it's driving her crazy. Ino tries to help, but she's pretty much in the same situation. Soulmate AU.
1. chapter 1

**Prompt taken from r-evolve-art's master list of soulmate AU prompts on tumblr: [the person] tastes the things that their soulmate is eating/drinking**

* * *

It's about a year after Team 7 disbands that Sakura starts tasting things. Not that she has anything against food in general; it's just uncomfortable and slightly surreal whenever she tastes instant ramen, or grilled saury and miso with rice, when she's eating arugula salad for lunch, or chalky ration bars and soldier pills whenever she's not eating. Still, it's a good thing that she's sworn off the salad-only diet that she's been on since she was nine, because then she would have been pissed.

"It's a soulmate thing," her primary care doctor says when Sakura goes in for a check-up. He looks at the expression on her face and sighs. "It's just a phase," Kumohara-sensei tells her, pinching his nose. "Your body's adjusting to the mental and physical links between your soulmate and itself." He eyes her speculatively. "Have you been experiencing any kind of stress recently?"

Sakura shrugs. "I've just been training with Tsunade-sama and shadowing Shizune-senpai," she says. "But I can handle it."

"Do you have anyone to talk to when you're stressed?" Kumohara-sensei asks, jotting down a few notes in Sakura's file.

"Well, there's Kaa-san, I guess..." Sakura trails off. Tsunade-sama is a good mentor and an accommodating superior despite all of her grumbling, but Sakura doesn't think she's comfortable enough to talk to Tsunade about her personal problems. Shizune-senpai isn't exactly someone Sakura would confide in, even if the older girl hasn't been anything but friendly towards her. Sakura isn't particularly close to any of her graduating cohort either. And Ino was definitely out of the question, for obvious reasons. Naruto's probably the one to whom she can freely talk to without any qualms, but Naruto's gone, as is Kakashi-sensei and their wayward teammate.

"I see. And how long have you been without a team?"

"Fifteen months, three days, eight hours and—" She cuts herself off.

Kumohara-sensei just gives her a wry look.

"My advice," he says, scribbling something down on a piece of paper, "is to talk to a few people. Another one of my patients with the same symptoms is around your age. Maybe you should talk to her." He tears off a neat little square and hands it to her.

"Isn't this a violation of doctor-patient confidentiality?" Sakura asks skeptically, still pocketing the slip of paper.

Kumohara-sensei rolls his eyes.

"Whatever. I wouldn't be surprised if you knew her better than I do. Now scram: there's a line outside the door and I haven't got all day."

When she's outside the hospital, she takes out the note from her pocket.

 _Yamanaka Ino_ , Kumohara-sensei has scrawled across the paper.

Well, **shit**.

* * *

"What are you doing here?" is Ino's response when she opens the front door of Yamanaka Flowers to see Sakura standing in front of her doorstep. They hadn't exactly parted on the best of terms and while they aren't enemies anymore, they haven't managed more than a stilted exchange of greetings on the street.

Sakura grimaces. "Kumohara-sensei sent me over to talk to you," she grits out. Ino just looks at her, confused, before her eyes widen with realization.

"…Oh," is all Ino says.

There's an uncomfortable moment of silence before Ino sighs. "Well, come on in, Forehead. We have a lot to talk about anyway. Might as well get this all over with."

Ino's bedroom is exactly how Sakura remembers it, but less frilly. Ino has taken down the few pictures of Sasuke that used to be taped to the full-length mirror and replaced them with photos of Team 8. Ino and Chouji's faces occupy most of the pictures, but Asuma-sensei and Shikamaru can still be seen in the background playing shoji.

Sakura hastily looks away, but she can tell that Ino's clearly noticed.

Ino coughs. "So," she says. "How have you been doing, Sakura?" It's a feeble attempt at making conversation and both of them know it, but how else is one supposed to address a former friend/frenemy/rival?

"It's been fine," Sakura says, and then, tired of going through this whole charade with Ino, who was supposed to be the person who knows her best in the entire world, bursts out: "Actually no, it's been terrible. Naruto's gone training with Jiraiya and Kakashi-sensei's back to doing whatever he does when he wasn't teaching us full-time and Sas—that person is gone god-knows-where and now I keep on tasting things that aren't in my meals and I feel food going down my throat even when I'm not eating. Ino, I don't even _like_ spicy seafood ramen."

"Hey, hey," Ino says. "Calm down." She puts her arms around Sakura and Sakura belatedly realizes that she's shaking like a leaf, hands trembling and teeth chattering. "There, there," Ino's voice soothes, "It's okay. I'm here for you. It'll be alright, Sakura," and Sakura finally breaks down sobbing.

She clutches Ino tightly like a drowning woman holding onto a lifesaver, and Ino lets her.

* * *

"So," Ino prompts. "What has your soulmate been eating recently?"

Sakura wrinkles her nose. "Some kind of muddy biscuit," she eventually says. "They've been eating it for days. It's kind of gross and tastes a little like cardboard and dirt. Kind of like a soldier pill, except I've had one before and it doesn't taste the same."

Ino's eyes light up. "Hold on," she says, and runs out of the room. She comes back with a small fanny pack. "It's Daddy's," she says in response to Sakura's raised brow, and rummages through Inoichi's pack. She unzips a few compartments and dismisses their contents (mostly medical gauze and cloth bandages to wrap around hands and joints) before she pulls out a small paper envelope. She opens the flap and shakes out three round pills into her palm.

"Aren't these also soldier pills?" Sakura asks, poking at a pill.

"Yeah, but they're the special kind that they give out to Anbu. Daddy told me not to eat these, but it might help if you just scrape off a little bit. You know, just so you can see if this is what you've been tasting for the past week." Ino says. She narrows her eyes at Sakura. "Or are you too scared to try?"

"Of course not, Pig," Sakura snaps. She takes a pill and gingerly scrapes it with a fingernail before handing it back to Ino. She pops her finger into her mouth.

"Well?" Ino says, watching Sakura's face anxiously.

"…Blargh. It's this, all right," Sakura makes a face. "It tastes worse in reality. Can't they add something to it to make it taste better?"

Ino just shrugs and tucks the medicine back into the pack. "Well, now you know for sure that they're on active duty," she says. "I mean, look at my soulmate. How am I supposed to tell who they are and what they do for a living if all I can taste is spare ribs and blood?"

"They don't eat anything else?"

"Nope. Just spare ribs. And blood, apparently." Ino shudders and makes a face. "It's disgusting. What if he's one of those weird monsters whose head flies around looking for blood to suck? What are they called again? Nukekubi?"

"It could be a bloodline limit," Sakura points out and when Ino pales, tries to reassure her. "Or they could just really like raw meat. Like Kiba. Doesn't he just scarf it down raw all the time when we go out to get Korean barbecue?"

"Forehead, are you saying that my soulmate is Inuzuka KIBA?! GROSS. TAKE THAT BACK!" Ino shrieks and launches a pillow at Sakura. Sakura ducks the first one but the second pillow smacks her right in the face.

"HA!" Ino crows with laughter, and Sakura scowls.

"Oh, you are so going to pay for this, pig," she growls without any real heat. Ino, giggling, just lobs her stuffed toy pig at her, and Sakura returns with a volley of throw pillows she takes from the loveseat near the window.

She ends up being late to training, which earns her a stern warning from Tsunade-sama. Still, Sakura reflects as she narrowly dodges a boulder, it's nice to have Ino back.

* * *

Ino's earlier suspicion is probably correct: Sakura's soulmate is definitely an shinobi on active duty. Most likely special ops.

"They must be pretty good at what they do if they're always being sent out on long missions," Ino says, pouring over Sakura's journal. Out of curiosity, but mostly out of boredom, they've decided to keep a log of the different foods their respective soulmates consume. "I mean, look at the amount of soldier pills and ration bars they're eating in _two weeks_! It's _inhuman_. Most people burn out after three _days_. I'm pretty sure that even Anbu restricts soldier pill usage to no more than five days max, but I'll have to check with Daddy."

"Everything tastes like soldier pills now," Sakura sighs, flopping back on Ino's pillows. Her soulmate seems to be on missions most of the time. The gritty medicinal texture of soldier pills stays on her tongue for days, even after she scrubs it hard with her toothbrush.

"Hey, you don't get to complain," Ino snaps. "You're not the one who throws up every time she even smells meat." Ino's soulmate still insists on spare ribs and the occasional blood. At least Sakura's soulmate eats the occasional ramen and miso and rice. They seem to have a particular fixation for grilled saury and egglant, though.

"Hey, but at least we've proved that your soulmate's not a nukenubi or a degenerate caveman. Look, they're civilized," and Sakura riffles through the pages. "They ate sukiyaki on the 23rd and uh, waffles on the 26th?" Sakura squints at Ino's handwriting. "And chocolate ice cream? Man, I wish _my_ soulmate ate some ice cream."

" _Bloody_ chocolate ice cream," Ino corrects. "Don't sugarcoat things, Forehead." She drops her face down into the throw pillow that she's holding. "Why do you have to ruin chocolate ice cream, of all things?" Ino's muffled voice wails. "Fuck you, soulmate."

Sakura just pats Ino's soft blonde hair comfortingly. "At least you won't be tempted to binge-eat that pint in the fridge during Friday movie night," she points out.

"Shut up, Sakura."


	2. Chapter 2

Weeks pass. The days shorten and the chill slips in between the cracks and tears of the papered doors. Sakura's soulmate evidently feels it too; on especially cold nights, sometimes the phantom sensation of hot barley tea, redolent of sunshine and grass, whispers down her throat. The leaves of the Japanese maple trees begin to blush red, and the produce baskets at the marketplace now burst with fall bounty. The aged oba-sans at the stalls hawk orange-red persimmons and golden ginkgo nuts and dusty sweet potatoes that are still fresh from the fields.

The Hashirama trees preserve their eternal verdant youth, as always, and like the unchanging appearance of the forest, Sakura's life largely remains the same. She still hops between the hospital, the training ground, home, and Ino's house like regular clockwork. The differences lie in the little details.

She gets promoted from lurker to semi-official junior assistant-to-the-assistant at the hospital, so now she occasionally participates in cleaning wounds and prepping tools before Shizune's surgeries. On the days when Shizune is less drained of chakra and more inclined to teach, she teaches Sakura how to stitch lacerations and cauterize wounds. It's still basic training, but Sakura's just grateful to finally be able to get hands-on experience.

She fares a little better in her training sessions with Tsunade, who finally gives a small grunt of approval when Sakura finally manages to lift a 50 pound boulder and throw it across the clearing of Training Ground #3. It's not as magnificent as Tsunade's punt, but it's still an improvement from when she first started out. "Keep it up, Haruno," the Hokage shouts, and Sakura glows inside.

When training ends, she stops at the market for a pint of ice cream and two cups of Japanese purīn before heading towards Yamanaka Flowers. When Ino meets her at the front door, it only takes her one look at Sakura's grinning face to understand what has happened today. Ino squeals and envelopes her friend in a hug.

"You did it! I KNEW YOU COULD DO IT!" Ino crows.

"Ermf, get off Pig. I'm sweaty," Sakura groans.

"Shut up and take my hug. It's payment for whatever's in that bag, and I'm wearing an apron, anyway," Ino retorts, then squeezes her harder as if to prove her point. "FOREHEAD! I knew you could do it! This is so EXCITIIIIING!"

The front door opens and Ino's mother sticks her head out. "Don't be so loud, Ino," she says reprovingly and then smiles at Sakura. "Come in, Sakura-chan."

"Did I interrupt anything?" Sakura asks Ino as they walk into Yamanaka Flowers.

"Nope. I was just helping with the shop since it's Friday and I don't have training. There's a little more to do, so you can just wait for me in my room. I'll be done in 15."

"I can help. I don't have anything else to do anyway," Sakura says, and in spite of Ino's half-hearted protests, she helps Ino prune the bonsai. After a while, Ino's mom comes in and shoos them out. "Go enjoy yourselves," she tells them.

So they're back in Ino's room, eating ice cream and painting their nails while watching a melodrama.

"So why are we watching Ojou no Hanayome again?" Sakura mumbles around the spoon in her mouth.

"Because it's better than Summer Cantata, which is the only other decent drama that we have in the house because Daddy loves it even if it's super depressing. He makes all of his subordinates watch it for 'training purposes.'" Ino says, rolling her eyes.

"I didn't think Summer Cantata was that bad," Sakura says mildly. "But yeah, if the protagonist wasn't that good looking, this drama would have never made it big."

Ino, mouth full, makes incoherent sounds of assent.

"But why training for T&I?" Sakura asks, curious. Even though Yamanaka Inoichi is in charge of Interrogation at T&I, she's never seen him as anything other than Ino's drama-otaku dad. Still, it's weird that Ino's dad doesn't separate his personal from his professional life.

"Apparently it's helpful training for honeytrap and undercover missions in the daimyo's court," Ino says, digging into her bowl of mint chip. "Being angsty and melodramatic is in fashion among the nobility right now and Bae Yong Jun-sama has it down pat."

"Huh."

"Yeah, I know. Anko can't stand it. That's probably why she transferred to Ibiki's department. Can't blame her, to be honest."

"...Can we just have our weekly meeting with Summer Cantata this time? It's angsty and over the top but at least-OW, PIG!"

"No."

"Why not? At least Yon-sama is better looking than the guy in ONH. This guy just cries all the time."

"We HAVE to watch ONH. It's our thing now," Ino says stubbornly. "Besides, if we put on Summer Cantata I'll get too distracted to talk and I'll probably cry a lot and then DADDY'S going to come in and watch with us and then we REALLY can't talk."

"Oh yeah, I forgot about your dad. Point taken," Sakura says. She shoves away her empty bowl. "Anyway. You start first. Did you find out anything?"

"Not much," Ino sighs. "I asked my parents and they didn't seem to know anything. It's not unheard of, but it's a pretty unusual phenomenon; there've only been a few cases cropping up here and there. I've tried asking some of our friends and nada."

"Who did you ask?"

"Shika, Chouji, Tenten, Rock Lee, Shino and Kiba," Ino ticks the names off her fingers. "Neji's on a mission, and no one's seen Hinata outside for a while."

"Not even her teammates?" Sakura asks, frowning. Out of the Rookie Nine, Team Eight is the most tight-knit, especially ever since Kurenai-sensei had her baby. Even if Hinata never asserted herself, Shino and Kiba always had her back, so she wasn't left out of anything, not like the way Sakura was.

"Yeah. According to Kiba, she's been sick for-wait a second." Ino falls silent, muttering to herself.

"Well, while you're thinking, I went back to Kumohara-sensei," Sakura volunteers. Ino scowls at her.

"Goddamnit, you made me lose my train of thought. What did he say?"

Sakura shrugs. "Apparently, it's a clan thing. That's what he suspects, at least. It's hard to tell when his sample size is so small."

"Then how come this hasn't happened to my parents? They're Clan."

"It's only affected a few clans," Sakura corrects. "And not just in Konoha. Kumohara-sensei's heard of a few patients with similar symptoms who live near the border."

"Well, I guess that makes it a little easier for us to track them down," Ino grouses sarcastically and flops down on her bed.

Sakura doesn't say anything. On the TV in Ino's room, Prince Keisuke mournfully watches the beautiful princess walk away with another man.

"Keisuke, you idiot man," Ino shakes her head at the screen as the prince bursts into tears after his second rejection, "You shouldn't wait for that bitch, even if she is decent-looking."

Sakura just hmms noncommittally.

"You've been quiet for a while, Forehead," Ino says after a moment. "What's going on in that big head of yours?"

"Ino," Sakura hesitates before going on. "Do you really think we should look for them?"

Ino stares at her like Sakura has just said something incredibly stupid.

"Don't look at me like that, pig," Sakura snaps. "I just...what if you find them and you don't like them? Or what if it's someone that hates shinobi because their parents got killed because of the War or someone who'll just despise you for being worthless and weak and-"

"Hey. Sakura." Ino says and Sakura stops, which is a good thing because she can feel the tears starting to well up. She can't stop them or the snot trickling down her nose from coming out and she hates this feeling, hates that she's still powerless, still the little girl left behind. But Ino's arms are around her again and it feels better because Ino's here now.

"I mean, we don't have to meet them or anything," Ino pats Sakura's head. "You don't have to find yours if you don't want to. I just want to see who the fuck my soulmate is so that I can kill them slowly for eating like a heathen and then convert them to a vegetarian diet. By the way, it's not Kiba. Just so you know."

"Yeah, I figured," Sakura sobs out a broken laugh. Ino stops carding her fingers through Sakura's pink hair and looks at her concernedly.

"You good, Forehead?"

"Yeah, I'm good. Thanks, Ino." Ino resumes playing with Sakura's hair.

"To tell you the truth, I'm a little disappointed that it wasn't Kiba. It would have made my life a whole lot easier."

Sakura snorts. "Him? On a vegetarian diet? You might as well tell him to go die. Not being your soulmate probably saved his life." Ino smacks her on the back.

"It's probably not an Inuzuka, anyway," Sakura continues. "Kiba's the only one in his clan who's dumb enough to eat uncooked meat. Besides, I don't think anyone in his clan is part of this."

Ino narrows her eyes. "And what makes you say that?" She asks suspiciously.

Sakura pulls out a storage scroll from her halter pouch. "Kumohara-sensei wouldn't tell me who his other patients are, which is stupid since he told me to go find you. Anyway, he had to leave his office because of an emergency, so I copied his patient files while he was gone. I didn't get to read a lot of the names, but I'm pretty sure none of them were Inuzuka." She makes the sign for release and a huge stack of manila folders dumps itself on the floor of Ino's bedroom.

"Oh. Is that why he came here yesterday to see me?"

Sakura winces and opens her mouth to apologize, but Ino just waves her hand.

"Yeah yeah, you're welcome. I don't think he bought my story, but whatever. Let's see what you got and oh my god that is a LOT of files. How the hell did you manage to copy all of these?"

"Chakra-imprinting copy jutsu," Sakura grins. "Tsunade-sama's always looking for ways to skive off work, so she taught me this. Neat, isn't it?" Ino gives Sakura a high-five.

"Let's divide and conquer. You take this half and I'll take this," Ino says, dumping the top half of the towering stack on her bed.

They spend the next two hours pouring through medical files.

"Forehead?" Ino says after a while.

"Hmm?" Sakura tosses another folder in the rejected pile. She's already 30 files in and she hasn't found anything related to soulmates or weird tasting sensations or anything.

"Why are we only looking through Sensei's files? Wouldn't it make more sense to go through the ones in the hospital?"

Sakura rejects another folder. "Well, nearly all of the Clan-born ninja go to sensei because he's been here for a long time. He's the only one left from the time before Tsunade's return, since Suzume-sensei passed away two years ago. Most ninja don't like the hospital, so Sensei's clinic is a safe alternative."

"Ohhhh. That makes sense. Wait, then how do you know him?" Ino queries. She wrinkles her nose. "I've been going to him since I was a kid and I don't think I've ever seen you around there."

"I used to go to Suzume-sensei before," Sakura says absently, nose buried in another medical file. "Since her clinic was closer to the civilian district."

Ino ohhs again in comprehension and then goes back to reading files.

* * *

"Well, I'm giving up for today," Ino yawns and stretches. "You sleeping over?"

"Mmm no, I didn't bring anything to change into, plus I promised Kaa-san that I'd go grocery shopping with her early in the morning," Sakura says. She gathers all of the files into "read" and "unread" piles and seals them in separate scrolls that she tucks into her pouch.

Ino walks her to the front door. "Let me know if anything comes up," Ino says and Sakura nods.

"Bye, pig."

* * *

 **Notes:**

Ojou no Hanayome is a spoof of the Princess Bride. Summer Cantata is a riff off the super angsty and overly dramatic Korean drama Winter Sonata.

and yeah, Japanese fans call the actor Bae Yong Jun "Yon-sama."

* * *

 **AN:** Thank you for the support! I'm floored by the amount of attention this story is receiving. Can you believe that this has more alerts on FFN than Cherry Bomb, which has 11 freaking chapters? MINDBLOWN. If you're a Kakasaku fan, go read it! Or any of my other Naruto stories!

Anyway, I just wanted to say that I most likely will be taking some time off from writing fanfiction until I graduate and find a job. Hopefully my job search will end within a few weeks (even more hopefully, before I graduate) so fingers crossed! I don't plan on abandoning any of my stories, so I should be back in a month or so with new chapters.

Cheers!


	3. Chapter 3

**PLEASE READ: I've made a couple of minor but important changes to chapters 1 and 2 at the suggestion of my beta reader, so please do go and re-read those before reading this chapter. Thanks!**

 **Beta'ed by the fabulous enemyanemone. She has an amazing story up on FFN, which is all about girl power (Ino, Sakura, and Hinata), so go check her out!**

* * *

The best part about Konohan autumns, in Sakura's opinion, are the colors and sounds that come with the biweekly Market Days. Resplendent foliage adorns the sky and dapples the ground with leaves in bright sunset hues, whose withered, skeletal husks crunch merrily under the geta of civilians and the sandals of off-duty ninja. On Market Days, farmers and merchants from outside the village bring their produce and goods and set up rickety makeshift tents and stalls on the main street and there they hawk their goods, their voices rising above the murmur of the crowd. Not to be outdone, the local shopkeepers also string particolored banners and streamers in front of their stores and stand outside their doors, calling out:

"Fresh fish! Fresh fish!"

"Strawberries for only 30 ryo!"

"Sweets for the sweet! Get your manju and daifuku here!"

"Roasted chestnuts! Sweet potatoes! Ginkgo!"

The street's usually crowded on Market Days and today is no exception, especially since it is close to closing time. Sakura and her mother squeeze past the displays of leather goods, knives and weaponry, and an assortment of children's kimono to get to the produce stalls.

"Now, what did we have to buy?" Mebuki wonders aloud. She fishes around her pocket and extracts a slip of paper. "Sakura, dear, can you go buy some oranges from Kosaku-san? Oh, and a few of Saki-san's apples, of course, if there are any left over."

"How many do you need?" Sakura asks, accepting the coin purse that her mother gives her.

"…Two oranges and five apples, dear," Her mother says, squinting at her handwriting. "I'll be in front of Yamame-san's shop."

"Okay. I'll see you in a bit."

Sakura steps into the crowd of shoppers. Nobody takes a second look at her; they're more focused on getting the items they want before the market closes at 5. She likes the anonymity. It's times like these when she's able to run away from everything and no one knows or really cares about who she is. Ino's friendship has taken some of the sting away, but it still hurts to be alone in a village that values teamwork above all other relationships, in a place where the weak are left behind like mismatched socks at the bottom of the hamper.

She's not the only abandoned genin in Konoha's history. She knows that she's one of the more fortunate cases; there are others, older genin who have slipped between the cracks in the system and have toiled for years without advancing a step in their careers. It's a miracle that Tsunade-sama agreed to take her under her wing. But humans find a perverse thrill in finding flaws, the imperfections in the things they take for granted. With the Copy Ninja, the last Uchiha, and the Demon Fox child on the same team, it's inevitable that some people will focus on Sakura with cold, cruel glee.

"Haruno Sakura? She's just a stray cat Hokage-sama picked up out of pity," the receptionist at the front desk confides to her friend as Sakura crosses the lobby of the hospital, following after Shizune. "She's nothing special. Hokage-sama has a soft spot for the charity cases." She doesn't bother to lower her voice; it carries clearly across the lobby. Shizune frowns and picks up her pace.

"Oh, her? She's the one on that failure of a team. What a joke," someone else snickers as Sakura walks past on another errand. "Ah, well. What can you expect from a civilian-born?"

Jaded eyes watch her as she crosses the streets; whispers follow her wherever she goes.

 _Dispensable_ , they whisper. _Unwanted. Weak._

But here, in this sea of many, she's just Haruno Sakura, Mebuki's daughter: Sakura-chan, all grown-up, not at all resembling the little bundle of wrinkled skin from sixteen years ago. Sakura with the brilliant smile, almost as bright as her pink hair and as warm as sunshine, always with a kind word for the vendors that greet her.

Just Sakura.

She finally locates Kosaku oji-san's tiny fruit stand after wandering around for a while. It's dwarfed by the larger fruit stands besides it, but its small size belies its popularity; there's a long line of housewives that spans the adjacent two tents and snakes around the corner. The line proceeds quickly; the housewives in front of her pepper the wizened old man behind the counter with rapid-fire orders which he supplies with equal alacrity. Sakura finds herself at the head of the line in no time. The old man smiles at her.

"Ah, Sakura-chan," Kosaku oji-san says, giving her a gap-toothed grin. "What can I do for you?"

"Kosaku oji-san! I'm so happy that you're back this week." Sakura beams at him. "Two oranges and five apples, please."

The Harunos have always bought Kosaku oji-san's fruit ever since Sakura was old enough to walk. Kosaku's orchard was a day's journey away from Konoha, but despite the long trip, he and his wife Saki faithfully came to the village to sell their produce every Market Day. It was well worth the journey, though, because they never had any trouble getting rid of their produce. Kosaku and Saki's apples were famous throughout Konoha, and housewives fought to buy the last, bruised ones at the bottom of the barrels during the Flash Sale at the end of the day.

"It's because we treat them like our children," Saki oba-san joked once, referring to their apple trees. Whatever the reason, their apples were special, and anyone who bought produce at Kosaku oji-san's stand could instantly taste the difference between Saki oba-san's apples and apples from someplace else.

"Saki sprained her ankle last week so we decided not to travel," Kosaku oji-san says sadly. "She still isn't feeling very well, the poor dear, so I told her that I would go by myself this time." He deftly fills a paper bag with the requisite number of fruit and hands it to her.

"Here you go, dear. And a gift from Saki." He adds two purple sweet potatoes to the bag. "Give them to your mother and tell her to make satsuma-imo gohan for you this week." He winks at her before turning his attention to the next customer.

As Sakura navigates through the crowd and heads towards Yamame oji-san's fish counter, a cow bell rings in the distance. The crowd immediately quiets down.

"FLASH SALE!" Someone bellows. "PRODUCE, FISH, 50% OFF!" There is a short pause before the microphone crackles again.

"Kosaku-san has just informed me that he will be giving away his remaining apples for FREE!" The voice booms. "Yes, that's right, folks! FREE. Starting…NOW!"

Chaos ensues.

* * *

It's a little after the flash sale ends when she feels a familiar taste start to bloom on her tongue. She braces herself, and then jolts in surprise.

It's not the acrid bitterness of soldier pills.

It's sweet and heady, a faint whisper of the promise of fall bounty and the blush of ripe fruit growing on trees.

It's the taste of Saki oba-san's heirloom apples.

They're here, she suddenly realizes. They're **here**. It doesn't make much sense, but she just _knows_ that her soulmate is somewhere nearby.

Here, in Konoha.

Here, only a few blocks away from her.

She runs through the streets like a madwoman, her heartbeat beating like a drum against her ribcage. She runs past late shoppers, past the empty stalls and tents until she reaches Kosaku oji-san's fruit stand, which stands unmanned.

"Looking for Ko-san?" The owner of one of the adjacent stalls jerks his thumb to the left. "He's already packed up and left. Said something about getting to the old missus as fast as he can."

She finally locates Kosaku oji-san's wagon about to exit the village gates.

"OJI-SAN, WAIT!" She screams. She can hear her heartbeat coursing through her ears, thumping out the same pattern.

Kosaku oji-san turns around.

"Eh…Sakura-chan? What are you doing here?"

 _…Of course Kosaku oji-san wouldn't know who he gave away his apples to_ , she realizes belatedly. Who would keep track of such things when every single person in the area was crowding around his stand?

"Sakura, dear?"

She can't hear her heartbeat anymore.

"…N-no. It's—It's nothing, oji-san," Sakura finally says. She backs away. "Sorry to bother you. I'll be on my way."

"Sakura-chan? Are you alright, dear?"

"I'm…I'm fine. Say hello to oba-san for me! Have a safe trip!" She flees the area, ignoring Kosaku oji-san's concerned calls behind her.

She runs without any sense of direction, unseeing eyes fixed straight ahead, filled with an overwhelming sense of failure and desperation.

 _You wouldn't have known who it was anyway_ , a small voice in her mind whispers.

But they were _here_ today, she screams internally. They were here at the marketplace, and she's missed her chance to meet the one person who might understand her, someone else apart from Ino and Kaa-san and Tsunade-sama and Shizune-senpai who might look beneath the underneath and appreciate her for being herself.

Someone who knows her through the salads she eats and the water she drinks, and who can probably tell when she's crying into her pillow by the taste of salty tears that trickle down her cheeks and onto her chapped lips. Someone who likes to drink hot barley tea in the evenings and pop soldier pills into their mouth like candy, uncaring of the consequences.

Someone who, maybe, just maybe, be...a friend.

The memory of apples lingering in her mouth tastes like salt.

* * *

 **AN: I'm back! Moved to another state two weeks ago and started my new job (I'm employed, guys! So excited!). I logged on to update this story a few moments ago (after two months of not updating, oops) and I'm just wowed at the number of people who subscribed to this story. I LOVE YOU ALL.**

 **Kosaku means "farming" in Japanese.**

 **Saki means "crimson."**

 **Yamame means "seema/Japanese salmon."**

 **If you've ever been to a flash sale, it's craaazy—housewives are TERRIFYING. Satsuma-imo gohan (Sweet potatoes with rice) is one of my most favorite things in the world. Carbs on carbs also sound pretty terrifying, but it's SO GOOD and it's super easy to make (you literally just slice up a sweet potato and cook it with the rice using a rice cooker). Mmmm.**

 **As always, if you have any questions or comments, please leave a review! Also, another shameless plug—I'm tinkering around with a Sakura-centric Tokyo Ghoul AU story, so stay tuned for that.**

 **To my American readers, happy Fourth of July! I hope you all get to enjoy the fireworks and the barbecue.**


	4. Chapter 4

"Remember, your uncle Kotaro will be stopping by in a few days to pick up the boxes of chinaware, so don't be alarmed if you hear anything from the basement," her mother says. "A-choo!"

Sakura hands her mother a handkerchief. The basement was always a little dusty, since no one ventured down here often; her parents used it to store account books and their more valuable wares. The room is packed with boxes overflowing with moldering scrolls and odd knickknacks that her father had brought back from his travels. Bolts of fabric occupy the wooden shelves lining the room, and underneath the shelves are painted vases and eggshell-thin teacups nestled in hay-lined boxes. Lacquerware gleams wine-dark in the candlelight. When Sakura was little, she used to come here and play hide-and-seek with her cousin Ren before the adults came to chase them out. Not with Ino, though. They had ended their friendship too soon for that to happen.

"Thank you, dear," Mebuki sniffles. "Oh, and remind me to tell your father to take care of those after we come back." She manages to point to a stack of thick tomes bound with twine before sneezing again.

"Alright. Are you okay, Kaa-san?"

"Yes, dear," her mother says miserably, dabbing her watering eyes.

They continue to search for the few items that Sakura's father had forgotten to pick up earlier. Eventually, they gather everything that Mebuki needs—a box of cosmetics, few bolts of cloth and five silk-backed scrolls—before exiting the room, Sakura carrying the heavier items. After they both leave the room, Mebuki slaps a palm on the wooden door. An intricate web of symbols flashes gold before fading away, and the door promptly vanishes into the rock wall.

"Are you sure that you be okay by yourself?" Her mother asks after a moment.

"I'll be fine, Kaa-san. If I get bored, I'll just go over to Ino's. Or Uncle Kotaro's. Is Ren back yet?"

"No, he's not," her mother says. "But Sakura?"

"Yeah?"

"Is there anything…bothering you lately?"

"No, of course not."

Her mother hums, sounding unconvinced. Sakura plasters a smile on her face.

"Kaa-san, I'm fine. Don't worry about me."

"…Well, alright. Don't forget to put a cold towel over your eyes, it'll help with the puffiness. There's also some cold cream in the fridge—"

"I _know_ ," Sakura snaps, unable to help herself. She immediately feels guilty when her mother falls silent.

"Sorry, Kaa-san, I didn't mean to blow up at you. I've just been a little stressed recently. It's nothing. Really."

"…Well, if you're sure," her mother says uncertainly. "You know where the emergency money is, and if there's anything you need, just ask Mine-san next door or Kotaro—"

"Yes, yes," Sakura sighs. "Come on, you're going to be late. Tou-san's waiting," and despite her mother's protests, she relieves her mother of the bolts of cloth and starts up the stairs.

"…And that's the last of it," Sakura informs her father, depositing everything, including the ledger, in the back of the cart. Her father grins at her.

"Thanks for the help, kiddo," Kizashi says. Her father helps her mother up the cart before climbing up himself to the driver's perch in the front. Sakura steps back and waves to her parents.

"Have a safe trip, Tou-san. Bye, Kaa-san."

"See you in a few weeks, pumpkin," her father says. He nickers to the old grey horse, and the cart starts its creaky journey towards the village gates.

* * *

The doorbell rings once, then twice. When someone begins knocking "HERE HERE HERE COME QUICKLY" in standard Konoha code, Sakura knows that it's not her parents at the front door, looking for another missing item on their inventory. She wipes her hands on her apron before heading out to see the person making such a racket at 2 in the afternoon.

She finds Ino at the door, looking the most disheveled Sakura's ever seen her in years.

"Hey, Forehead. We got held up at one of the security checkpoints, so we got in late," Ino pants. There are beads of sweat trickling down the sides of her face, and her usually pristine hair is tangled and dirty. She looks tired. "Mind if I crash at your place today? My parents are still out on their mission, and I really don't want to sleep alone."

"Come on in, pig," Sakura says, standing aside to let Ino in. "I'll go turn the boiler on; you smell awful." She wrinkles her nose.

Ino half-heartedly shoots her a dirty look. "Yeah, well, the forest didn't have five-star rated accommodations the last time I checked," she says, unslinging her bag and dropping it unceremoniously onto the wooden floor. She squats down and begins the arduous task of unwrapping her sandals while Sakura goes down the hallway to turn on the switch for the boiler.

"Boiler's on," Sakura says, walking back to Ino, who's busily prying a mud-caked sandal off her left foot. "The hot water should be ready in ten minutes. You good, Pig?"

"I...hate...these...shoes," Ino wheezes. "Forehead, HALP."

"Okay. You're going to pull your foot back and I'm going to pull the shoe towards me. One, two-OW, Pig! Gross. I'm never wearing this shirt again." Sakura groans, looking down at the muddy footprint on her chest.

"Chill, girl. You have, like, five shirts that look exactly like the one you're wearing now," Ino points out, still huffing. "Man, I'm so out of shape after that run."

"No, this one's cherry red," Sakura corrects Ino. "The others are ruby, berry, lipstick, and scarlet."

"Those are virtually indistinguishable shades of red, Forehead."

"They're not the same."

"They look exactly like each oth—"

" _They're not the same_."

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry. I'll wash it for you later, how's that? Just help me with the other foot."

Sakura grimaces.

"I mean, unless you want me to walk around your house trekking dirt and blood and decomposed bits of flesh and organs and Chouji's potato chips," Ino says, rolling her eyes. "I'm pretty sure that my shoes have been in everything, and I mean everything."

"Ewww, Pig."

"Hey, you asked. Come on, let's get this over with so that I can take a bath and a nap and then we can talk about all the cute guys I saw at the rest stops on the way back home."

"Fineeee."

They manage to yank off Ino's other sandal without damaging the leather. "Yess!" Ino crows. She gives her sandal a once-over and then wiggles her toes experimentally. "My shoes look fine, no broken toes, great! I knew I could count on you, Sakura. Alright, bathtub. I'm coming for you, babe." She gets up and dusts her pants.

"...You're just here for my bathtub, aren't you?"

"Why do you think I'm still friends with you, Forehead?"

"You are such a pig," Sakura says, but the corners of her mouth quirk up.

"Gotta live up to my name, you know?" Ino says, already halfway up the stairs to Sakura's room. "See ya in a little bit. I might take a nap right after my bath; I'm pooped. Do you still have the clothes that I left the last time I came over?"

"Yeah, they're in the top drawer. I'm just going to run some errands for Kaa-san, but I'll be back in an hour or so. Don't go burning the house down, you hear me?"

"Yes, Mother," Ino says. Sakura can hear her eyes roll. "If you're going to the store, can you get me a toothbrush and the latest edition of Kunoichi Kulture? I need to catch up with all of the gossip I missed. Oh, and purin if they have any. Thanks, Forehead!"

"One toothbrush, Kunoichi Kulture, and purin. Would that be all for you, Your Highness?" Sakura says sarcastically.

"No, that would be all, child," Ino says pompously, pulling off a passable imitation of the Fire Daimyo. "But no, I just really need the toothbrush," she adds, reverting back to her normal voice. "Don't worry about the other two-and. Oh. My. God."

"Alright. Let me know if you need anything else, okay?" Sakura hollers.

"HOT WATERRRR," Ino's voice floats down. "YASSSS." The sound of running water starts.

"...And you obviously don't hear me anymore," Sakura sighs. She opens the front door. "See ya later, pig."

Ino still isn't done with her bath when Sakura comes back from the store 30 minutes later, so Sakura sticks the two cups of purin in the fridge and drops the new toothbrush into the holder before curling up on the loveseat with the fashion magazine. She's halfway through Kunoichi Kulture when Ino reappears in an old oversized sweater that reads FLOWER POWER and a pair of baggy sweatpants.

"Bathtubs are magical," Ino announces, looking fresh and bright-eyed and very different from the haggard girl who had staggered in an hour before. "I still can't believe that Daddy got rid of ours and installed those stupid modern shower stalls instead. From now on, I'm coming over to shower at your place, Sakura. I'll move in my entire collection of rubber duckies. You'll never get rid of me. Ever."

"I've tried, but it didn't work, remember?" Sakura says absentmindedly, poring over Kunoichi Kulture.

"It's because you lurveeee me," Ino singsongs, making herself comfortable in the nest of pillows at the head of Sakura's bed. Sakura rolls her eyes.

"Please, Pig."

Ino grins. "Awww, Forehead's getting all shy," she teases.

"Shut up," Sakura grumbles. "And stop moving around, the bed's going to collapse under your weight." She dodges the teddy bear Ino lobs at her.

"So," Ino says, leaning back against the wall, digging into her second cup of purin. She pops the spoon out of her mouth with an audible sound. Sakura frowns at her to tell her how obnoxious that is; Ino just sticks her tongue at her. "Anything happen while I was gone?"

"Mm. Not really," Sakura says, turning her attention back to the magazine. She flips back to the page with the cute platform heels. "Hey, Ino, what do you think about these shoes?"

"Cute," Ino mumbles around her spoon, glancing at the page. "And badass. Call them your badass kicking boots." She gives Sakura a mock-glare. "And don't think you've fooled me, because you didn't. We promised no secrets between us, remember?"

Sakura sighs and shoves the magazine away from her. "I think my soulmate's here. In Konoha."

Ino promptly spits out her spoon.

* * *

"Why didn't you tell me sooner, Forehead?" Ino sputters after Sakura tells her about the incident at the farmers' market. "I mean, this, this is important! This should have been the first thing that you told me today!"

"I thought that you might be hurt if I told you," Sakura mumbles.

"W-what? Of course not!" Ino says, looking gobsmacked. "Where did you get that idea?"

"Because we fought last time, and it hurt to not be friends with you," Sakura says in a small voice, looking down at her lap, feeling stupider every second she voiced her deepest fears in front of her friend. "And I…I don't want to ruin what we have again." She looks at Ino. "I miss talking to you, Ino."

"Awww. Give me a hug, Forehead," Ino says, tackling Sakura with a bear hug.

"Hos before bros?" Sakura says, voice muffled by Ino's baggy sweater.

"Hos before bros," Ino agrees, patting Sakura on the head before releasing her. "Anyway, my soulmate can go screw themselves with a ten-foot pole, for all I care. You can find out a lot about a person by the food they eat, and from what I can tell, my soulmate's someone that I never, ever want to meet in my lifetime. So don't worry about me, Forehead, you have enough problems of your own to deal with. At least your soulmate sounds somewhat normal."

"If you look past the drug habit and the shady connections to ANBU, that is," Sakura says drily.

Ino shrugs. "Everyone has a few skeletons in their closet," is her rejoinder. "And in the grand scheme of things, those aren't really problems for shinobi." She bounces up and down on the bed. "But Sakura, look! Now you can find out who your soulmate is! Looking for someone in Konoha is totally is so excitinggg. Waaay better than fashion magazines and trashy gossip."

"I...I dunno, Ino." Sakura flops down on her back.

"But why?" Ino asks, confused. "Don't you also want to find out who it is? You even ran after them! Look, we've risked so much to find out more about this, and I'm being serious here. If sensei ever finds out that we stole his files, we are toast, Forehead."

"Don't get me wrong, I want to know why this is happening, or who my soulmate is. It's just…I don't think I'm ready."

"I don't understand."

Sakura sighs. "Ino, what do you think of me?"

"Wait, what? Why?"

"When other people look at me," Sakura says quietly, "they see a failure. A weakling. And I get it, because that's who I was. Who I am, right now."

"But you aren't a—"

"Haven't you heard about the things they say about me, Ino?"

Ino falls silent, and Sakura knows she has.

"I want to find them. I really do, but it's too hard. I can't—I can't go out looking for them. Not now. Not when I still can't look at myself in the mirror."

"…If that's what you want, then," Ino says. She studies Sakura for a moment, and then mercifully turns her attention to the magazine in front of her.

* * *

 **Finally broke through my writer's block! Sorry about the lack of action in this update. Merry Christmas, and happy holidays!**


	5. Chapter 5

"But really, how have things been?" Ino asks. "Besides the whole soulmate thing." They'd lit up Ino's souvenir from Tanzaku Quarters a while ago—a limited edition scented candle from a specialty gift shop — and now the entire house smells like fireworks, plum blossoms, musky incense and ginjo sake. It's an oddly comforting scent that reminds Sakura of Tsunade.

"Well, Shizune-senpai's not here, so I haven't been going to the hospital lately."

"Oh. Is Shizune-san sick?"

"No, she's taking some time off to visit some friends in the countryside before the first snow falls. And before you ask, no, it's not a boyfriend."

"Awwwww," Ino grouses. "Well, at least she has some time off. She deserves it. Are you still training with the Hokage, then?"

"Nah. Tsunade-sama's been swamped with paperwork for the past few weeks, so she doesn't have time to spare. She's given me some drills to do, though, so I've been doing those and running laps around the training field."

"That's great!" Ino says brightly before doing a double-take. "Oops. That didn't come out well. Sorry, Sakura. But that works out perfectly!"

" _What_ works out perfectly?" Sakura says irritably. "You're losing me, pig."

"You can train with us, Forehead!"

"Huh?"

"Train with Team Ten!"

"…Won't I just get in the way?" Sakura asks. "I mean, you're Ino-Shika-Cho. It's always been like that. There's no room for another person."

Ino rolls her eyes. "Of course there's room," she says. "Since stupid Shika had to go and get himself promoted before the rest of us, we need a third person to qualify for the Chunin exams next year. I was going to ask you if you wanted to train together a while ago, but your training sessions overlapped with Team Ten's, so it didn't look like it was going to work. What do you think?"

"Sure," Sakura says, relieved. "Thanks, Pig. I was worried about what to do, since I don't really have a team. You're a lifesaver. But is everyone else okay with it?"

Ino fidgets.

"Pig?"

"Well, I haven't exactly asked the others about it yet," Ino admits. "But don't worry! We can just ask them in the morning. I'm sure Chouji and sensei will be fine with it. Shika doesn't even have a say in this, since he's already a chunin."

"I don't know, Ino," Sakura sighs.

"Relax, Forehead. Everything will be fine."

* * *

They go out to look for Asuma early in the morning, against Sakura's advice.

"Ino, it's six," Sakura protests, tugging on Ino's sleeve. "He's probably sleeping in after getting back. He can't possibly be up at this hour."

"Nah. Sensei likes to follow a set schedule on his off-days, and he usually goes food shopping at this time if he can," Ino says matter-of-factly. "Most people don't know this, but he's kind of a control freak. He's weird like that."

They find Asuma in the grocery store near his apartment, contemplating a row of canned soups. "Corn potage," they hear him mutter to himself, "or miso?"

"Get the corn," Ino advises. "You can always make miso soup at home. Besides, nothing's better than hot corn potage on a cold fall day."

"Yeah, that's what I was thinking, too," Asuma says absently, selecting a can of corn potage. He looks up at them. "Ah. Ino."

"Morning, sensei!" Ino chirps. "Beautiful day, isn't it?"

"Morning, Ino," Asuma replies. "And… Ino's friend?" He looks at Sakura. "You look familiar."

"We fought each other in the Chunin Exams," Ino says, slinging an arm over Sakura's shoulder. "Sakura's my best friend, I'll have you know."

Asuma's face clears. "Oh, I see," he says. "Sakura. Haruno, wasn't it? You're Hatake's student."

"I used to be," Sakura says honestly. "I don't know if I still am."

"…I see," Asuma says, looking a little uncomfortable. He looks at the two of them. "Is there anything I can do for you, lovely ladies?"

"We were wondering if Sakura could join our team for the Chunin Exams," Ino says. "Is it okay if she trains with us? Please?"

Asuma hums. "I don't see why not," he says mildly. "But have you asked the others yet?"

"Well, n-no, but—"

"Ask the boys for their opinion first," Asuma counsels, standing up and stretching. "And then if they agree, bring Sakura along to training."

"We still have training?! But we just came back!" Ino protests.

"You should know better by now," Asuma says reproachfully. "Training Ground #3."

"But sensei—"

" _Ino_."

"…Fine," Ino grumbles. "C'mon, Sakura. Let's go find Chouji."

* * *

Chouji isn't at home, much to their surprise and disappointment.

"He must have left early," Chouji's mother says. "He might be with Shikamaru at the training grounds."

He isn't at Team Ten's usual training grounds, either. After a while, Ino goes back to her family's flower store to open the store in her parents' absence.

"Sorry, Sakura," she says apologetically. "I didn't think that it'd take this long. I'll look for them with you after the morning shift."

"It's fine, Ino. I'll see you later."

"Bye, Forehead!"

They part at the next intersection. Sakura continues searching for Ino's elusive teammate. She scours the other training grounds, the bookstore and the food court with no luck.

She ends up finding him in front of a convenience store, munching on a handful of potato chips.

"Hi, Chouji," she says, sliding into the seat opposite him.

Chouji blinks up at her. "If you're looking for Ino, I haven't seen her," he says shortly. He crunches on a chip, spiraled cheeks wobbling.

"I know where Ino is, it's just—can I talk to you about something?" Sakura asks.

He gives a noncommittal grunt.

"I heard that you and Ino were looking for someone to fill Shikamaru's spot for the Chunin exams, and I was wondering if I could join your team. Do you mind if I train with you and Ino?"

Chouji stops eating. He looks at her with an unreadable expression on his face. "You're not going to wait for Naruto?"

"I'm not."

"Why?" Chouji asks, narrowing his eyes. "He's your teammate. You can't just leave him."

"Because I'll only hold him back if I wait," Sakura says quietly. "But more than that, I…I need to do this for myself." She pauses. "By the way, he's the one who left first. Just for the record."

"...Fair enough," Chouji concedes. "I can respect that."

He hesitates.

"Shika and Ino and I go out for ramen on Tuesdays," he finally tells her, and Sakura knows that it is as an apology. "Do you want to join?"

"I—Thanks, but no thanks," Sakura says. "I'm not a big fan of ramen, but Naru—" She winces. "Sorry," she says instead and falls silent.

"I'm not, either," Chouji says, seemingly unperturbed by the awkward silence. "A fan, I mean. Ramen's pretty over-rated, anyway." After a moment, he offers her his bag of potato chips. "Chip?"

* * *

Shikamaru is easier to find than Chouji. After parting ways with the latter, Sakura heads over to Shikamaru's favorite cloud-gazing spot and finds the very person himself sleeping under the shade of a Hashirama tree, eyes closed, hands propped under his head.

"Hi, Shikamaru."

He doesn't respond.

"You probably already know why I'm here, but I'll ask you anyway. Do you mind if I join Team Ten for training? It's just until the Chunin Exams."

"…No."

Sakura blinks. "I'm sorry?"

"No, I don't care," Shikamaru clarifies. He sighs. "Ino will probably kill me if I said no."

"So…that's a yes?"

"Sure," Shikamaru agrees, opening his eyes. "But on one condition." He stares at her, eyes glittering and alive. It's sunny outside, but somehow the air feels stale, heavy. The shadow of the tree besides them seems to loom larger than life.

"Trust is never easily given, especially for the second time," he says. "If you hurt Ino again, I will find a way to make you suffer. You hear me?"

Sakura forces herself to nod.

"Good. Not a word to Ino."

The shadows recede, and the oppressive atmosphere lightens. Just a little bit.

"Welcome to Team Ten, I suppose," Shikamaru says. He closes his eyes.

* * *

 **Tried to finish this before the new year and I did, woohoo! Happy new year, everyone!**


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: Inspired by Plato's _Symposium_ and the _Kojiki_. Let me know what you think! I'm a sucker for comments.**

* * *

Shikamaru doesn't stick around for training often, since he's put into groups with other chunin for missions. Still, whenever he does join in for group training, Sakura feels uneasy. After the initial warning, Ino's teammate doesn't make any more moves, but Sakura can feel his eyes assessing her, watching her every movement, every gesture.

But Sakura doesn't have time to worry about slightly murderous, former classmates or awkward team dynamics. Not when she's sitting in front of the person she wants to see the least at the moment.

 _Click, click._

 _Click._

Kumohara-sensei slowly puts the ballpoint pen down on his desk and steeples his hands. He looks at her with his dark, dark, eyes.

"Do you know why I've called you to my office?" He asks.

Sakura shifts uncomfortably in her seat, averting her own eyes to escape the doctor's scrutiny. Both sensei and Ino seem to possess the disconcerting ability to discern her soul.

For a brief moment, Sakura wonders what her soul looks like, to them.

Kumohara-sensei regards her before adjusting his tinted spectacles, which thankfully hides his menacing gaze from view. Even so, Sakura shuts her eyes, dreading the words that come next.

"I'm disappointed, Haruno," the doctor says, and Sakura feels the weight of those words like a punch to the gut. "I sent you to the Yamanaka girl to talk, not for the two of you to stir up trouble. Quite frankly, I expected more from you."

"Sorry, sensei," Sakura says quietly, eyes still shut tightly. She hears him click his tongue disapprovingly.

"Look at you, all bark and no bite. Where did that backbone of yours go?"

She chooses not to respond. She hears him exhale.

"It was the Yamanaka girl who started this, wasn't it?"

 _No. It wasn't Ino. It was all her._

Sakura opens her eyes and meets the doctor's gaze squarely.

"I copied all of the files," she tells him truthfully. "Ino has nothing to do with this, I swear—"

"Then all the more reason to be disappointed with you, Haruno," the doctor interjects coldly. "You can't tell me that you didn't notice anything wrong with the files you copied?" He snorts at the expression on Sakura's face. "While I am disappointed by the fact that you thought it was a good idea to copy _confidential patient information_ ," Kumohara-sensei says, stressing the last three words, "I'm far more disappointed in your lack of common sense."

…No wonder most of the files were a mess.

"I thought it was an error on my part," Sakura admits.

The doctor raises an eyebrow.

"What kind of doctor would I be if I didn't protect the privacy of my patients?" He asks rhetorically. "An unlocked cabinet doesn't mean that there aren't other security measures in place."

"Oh. Right."

Kumohara-sensei rolls his eyes. "Children these days," he mutters. "Anyway, since it was your brilliant idea to break into my cabinets, I'll have to come up with a fitting punishment." He stares at her with a calculating look. "…Ah. I know just the thing."

Sakura gulps.

"Kyoko is leaving her position soon. I do need someone to man the reception desk and help me with my daily tasks until I find a suitable replacement."

The doctor smiles, and Sakura shudders, because Kumohara-sensei never smiles.

"You will do it, won't you?"

Sakura, taken aback, stammers. "I have training with Tsunade-sama, and Ino—"

The doctor just stares at her with his bottomless black eyes, and Sakura promptly gives up.

"I'm not getting paid for this, am I?" she sighs.

The doctor merely gives her another tight-lipped smile.

"Off you go, now," he says.

…She'll take that as a no, then.

Just before she is about to exit, however, Sakura pauses in front of the door and turns around.

"Sensei, have you found out anything else about soulmates?" she asks, unable to help herself. She regrets it as soon as the question leaves her mouth.

The doctor gives her an unimpressed look, and Sakura winces.

"I won't go looking for them. I just—it's hard not to want to know who they are when you can taste everything that they're eating."

"I sincerely hope you don't look for them anymore," Kumohara-sensei tells her sharply. "Looking for your soulmate is a futile exercise. You might as well tell the Daimyo's wife to stop raising cats and calling them Tora."

He pauses.

"As for the side effects, they'll go away by themselves, soon enough."

"How would you know?" Sakura grumbles.

The doctor ignores her.

"I expect you to come in tomorrow at 7am sharp," he says absently, already delving into a pile of paperwork on his desk. "Don't be late."

* * *

"I've just signed my soul to the devil," Sakura informs Ino as soon as Sakura sees her on the training grounds. Sakura flops down, immediately regretting her decision when her bottom hits the ice-hard soil. It had been a warm, snow-free winter for the most part, but this week, oddly, had seen some sleet and hail. The ground, as a result, was frozen solid. "OWW."

Ino snickers, and Sakura throws her a dirty look.

"It's not my fault if the trees are always this green and leafy," Sakura says defensively, wincing from the pain. "It's hard not to be fooled into thinking that the ground would be soft." Ino just laughs at her.

"Pfft. Excuses," Ino says, wiping the tears from her eyes. "So, who's the devil? Is it Tsunade-sama?"

"Kumohara-sensei," Sakura groans. Ino quickly sobers up.

"He found out, didn't he," Ino says despondently. She looks at Sakura. "Are we done for?"

"I'm working as his temporary receptionist until he finds a better one," Sakura says.

"Oh. What about me?"

"You didn't do anything wrong," Sakura informs her friend. "Don't worry about it. It shouldn't be that bad, anyway."

"Why did it take so long for him to find out? It's been weeks since we stole them," Ino says, frowning.

Sakura shrugs. "I think sensei was waiting for us to own up to our wrongs," she says ruefully. "I mean, he told me that he was more disappointed in me not being able to tell that the patient files I copied had the wrong information than me breaking into his office."

"…Sensei has a few loose screws in his head, doesn't he?" Ino says in a grudgingly admiring tone.

Sakura silently agrees.

"Did he say anything about, you know." Ino casts an eye around their surroundings. Chouji and Shikamaru are a few feet away, watching the clouds pass by. She lowers her voice. "Soulmates?"

Sakura sighs. "He just gave me that 'don't be ridiculous' look and told me not to go looking for them," she tells her friend. "Not that I expected anything."

Ino slumps dejectedly against the tree. "We're never going to make any progress," she moans. "This sucks. I hate my life."

"Sit up, Ino. Slouching is bad for your back," Asuma's deep voice says behind them. Their teacher ambles over, lit cigarette at the edge of his mouth. "What's with the long faces?"

"Kumohara-sensei yelled at Sakura today," Ino says glumly. She makes no movement to correct her posture.

"Do I want to know why?" Asuma says, looking askance at the two of them. "Not that I'm not surprised, truth be told. Kumohara's about as prickly as a Suna cactus. He's just as lovable as one, too."

"Probably not," Sakura sighs. "Unless you can tell us something about soulmates, that is."

"What?" Asuma says, looking confused. His face clears after Sakura tells him about their situation. "Ah, I see." He gives both of them a comforting pat on the head.

"Cheer up, you two. Don't mind Kumohara."

"Why not? He's a good doctor." Ino scrunches her forehead. "We've been going to him for years."

Asuma leisurely flicks the ash off his cigarette. "Kumohara is a good doctor, but he hasn't been the same since the war." He takes a pull at the cigarette and exhales. "But then again, few are."

He looks down at Ino and Sakura. "I am surprised that he's started with the whole soulmate nonsense again, after all these years."

"You think Kumohara-sensei's a liar?" Sakura asks Asuma. Despite the old doctor's acerbic attitude, he didn't strike her as a liar, nor did he seem as if he had any mental issues. When she'd seen him a few minutes ago, the man's dark eyes were bright and sharp, very unlike her own grandfather's rheumy eyes, filmy with age.

Asuma winces.

"I wouldn't call him a liar," he says. "But soulmates are an old wives' tale. They don't exist in real life." When he notices Ino and Sakura's bemused expressions, he raises an eyebrow. "Did your parents not read you bedtime stories when you were younger?"

"…Yes?" Sakura says hesitantly. "But Tou-san's stories are mostly about Uzushio and none of those have anything related to soulmates." She looks over at her friend.

Ino shrugs. "Don't look at me," she says defensively. "All of Daddy's stories had people dying in car crashes or losing their memories."

Their teacher mutters something under his breath that sounds suspiciously like "that drama otaku."

Ino looks hopefully at her teacher. "Can you tell us? Please?"

Asuma hesitates. "I'm not the best person to ask," he demurs, scratching his head sheepishly. "It's been a while since I've heard this from my old man."

"Senseiiiiii," Ino wheedles. She elbows Sakura. "Forehead."

"…Fine," Asuma groans, caving in when Ino and Sakura both look at him with puppy-dog eyes. "Stop that, you she-devils."

"Yes!" Ino cheers, giving Sakura a high-five. "Hold up, sensei." Ino cups her hands.

"CHOUJI, SHIKA, GET YOUR LAZY ASSES HERE! SENSEI'S TELLING US A STORY!"

They see the boys reluctantly sit up after they hear Ino's announcement. Chouji is the first one to stand up and amble over to where they are.

Shikamaru lopes in a minute later, yawning into his fist.

Asuma sighs. "Gather up, kiddies," he says, obviously resigned to his fate. He waits until Shikamaru settles down in the shade before beginning his story.

"Once upon a time, long, long ago," Asuma starts. "Before the birth of the Rikudo Sennin, and many, many years before the meteoric rise of the Otsutsuki clan—"

"Wait. Before the Sage of Six Paths?" Chouji interrupts.

"Before the Sage of Six Paths," his teacher agrees patiently.

"That's impossible. Nothing comes before the Sage of Six Paths. He's a literal god." Chouji pops a potato chip into his mouth.

Ino rolls her eyes. "The Sage had a mother, Chouji. How else would he have come into this world?"

"He could have just existed for all of eternity," Chouji argues. "Since he's a god."

"You know who his mother is. It's Kaguya-hime, Chouji! The one from the bedtime stories your mom told us when we were little! You know, the crazy lady on the moon?" Ino says, exasperated.

"We don't actually know if he had a mother. It's just hearsay," Chouji counters.

Shikamaru turns to Asuma just as Ino opens her mouth to bicker. "Sensei, please continue," he says. He glowers at his teammates. "The two of you—shut up."

Ino flares up. "Don't you tell me what to do, you pineapple-headed—"

"Do you want to hear this story or not?" Asuma says sternly. "Because I actually had a lesson planned out for today, believe it or not." That catches Ino's attention, and she immediately quiets down.

"The Otsutsuki were not the first ones to inhabit these lands," Asuma resumes. "The very first were the kami, the spirits that inhabited the trees, the rocks, the streams trickling through craggy slopes, the wind rushing through the weeping willows and the tsunamis that shape the shore, and the goddess Amaterasu ruled over them all.

"For a while, they were content with their lot, and the Earth flourished under their care. When they became restless, Amaterasu created animals to divert their attention. From soft clay and rotting wood, she made the spotted deer, the black bear, the snake that lurks under the bright foliage of the forest floor, for the spirits that dwelt within the rough-hewn rocks and the fertile soil. From her breath, she fashioned the songbird and the dragonfly, iridescent wings gleaming in the sunlight, for the aerial sprites; from her tears, the scaly fish for the kami living under the wine-dark waters.

"But these were not enough, and the kami soon tired of their playthings. Amaterasu racked her head in desperation, fearful of losing her throne. Finally, she came up with an idea.

"She took clay and wood from the bountiful earth to fashion a crude body, shards of obsidian for its eyes and kelp for the hair protecting the soft head, red flower petals for the lips and seashells for the ears. She gathered these, and more. When all of her preparations were done, she breathed life into the clay doll, and that became the first human.

"The kami were pleased with their new plaything and clamored for more dolls. Amaterasu granted their wish, and soon the humans roamed the Earth.

"The humans of old had two heads, two bodies, and four pairs of limbs. One yang body, one yin body; black and white, left and right. There were a few that had two yang sides, or two yin sides, but the kami treasured them no less.

"They were ambitious, strong, and brave. Clever, as well.

"Perhaps a little too clever for their own good.

"When their greed overcame their prudence, they overthrew their kami lords, and took control over the territories the spirits had once overseen: the verdant mountains, the rivers, the golden sands of the arid desert.

"It was only a matter of time before they became dissatisfied and sought to attain higher, loftier goals. It was then that Amaterasu herself became afraid of her own creations, and finally, she heeded the words of her brother Susanoo. She summoned all of the humans to her dwelling in the High Plains of Heaven, and using the sword Susanoo had gifted her, she clove each human into two and drove them out of her palace. In a fit of rage, she placed a curse on them and all of their descendants as a lasting warning.

"Terrified and in pain, the mutilated humans fled as far away from their parent as they could, finally understanding the dreadful consequences of angering a god. They ran for their lives, hobbling on two legs, stopping to rest only when the sky began to grow dark and their vengeful mother retired for the night.

"Only then did the majority of them realize that their other half was nowhere to be found.

"They desperately reached out to their soulmates in the darkness, hands blindly tracing the outlines of the noses, cheekbones and mouths of strangers, but never the features they sought. The sun rose and set, and the humans continued to look for their missing halves.

"When they finally realized that they would never find their other halves in this lifetime, they wept."

Their teacher pauses. When he resumes, his voice is softer.

"We still ache where our souls have been severed, as part of Amaterasu's punishment. But humans are tenacious creatures: our wounds have scabbed over, and time has dulled some of the pain within our souls. We find others who are not our soulmates, whom we cherish and love with all of the half-soul we each have been given. We find love, despite the challenges that come forth, despite our yearning for the impossible."

Ino breaks the long silence that follows.

"…Sensei, you should totally retire and be a storyteller," she tells Asuma seriously.


	7. Chapter 7

With the aid of Asuma's detailed lesson plans and regular practice sessions in Training Ground Three, they manage to pass the chunin exams with flying colors. By then, most of Team Ten has accepted Sakura into their ranks: Asuma greets her as warmly as he greets Ino, and Chouji generously offers her his bag of potato chips out of his own free will.

The only one who still remains aloof, however, is Shikamaru, who begins to attend Team Ten training sessions more often after the end of the exams.

She finally discovers the reason behind his continued antipathy toward her when she sees the grey, puckered scar on his chest during one practice session. Sakura has seen worse scars on people's bodies during her time at the hospital, but those were on older shinobi with years of experience. Judging from the unusual color and the shape of the wound, though, it seems to have most likely been caused by a sharp, knife-like object. Something like a poisoned blade, perhaps.

But Shikamaru is her age, and with his lazy, easy-going personality, it is highly unlikely that he had been involved in dangerous missions prior to his promotion. Asuma would not have let that happen under his watch. Neither would Shikamaru's father, for that matter. The most plausible time he could have gotten this was during the last chunin exams, but even that didn't seem to match the time frame. Not for scar tissue this old.

Sakura finally realizes that she's gawking. She quickly shifts her eyes elsewhere, but she can tell that Shikamaru has clearly noticed at this point. He doesn't say anything, but he quickly pulls on another mesh shirt, and for the rest of practice, he trains with Chouji on the outskirts of the training grounds, far away from Sakura.

She decides to ask Ino later about Shikamaru's scar when they go out for snacks at the new French bakery that had just opened a few days before.

"Calm down, Forehead. We gotta get some more of this cake later, this is fucking delicious," Ino mumbles through a mouthful of cream and sponge cake. "Mmm. Creamy. 'Sho good."

Sakura waits until Ino finishes chewing. Ino finishes her plate and slowly sets her fork down.

"Promise not to tell anyone?" Ino asks, looking conflicted. "It's really not my story to tell."

Sakura nods solemnly, and Ino sighs. "It's from a long time ago," she says. "Someone tried to kidnap us when we were little. Shika jumped in front of me, tried to stall for time. A poisoned kunai nicked him. End of story."

Sakura gapes at her.

"Wait, wait. Hold on. When were you kidnapped?"

"Almost kidnapped," Ino corrects her. "Shikaku oji-san caught the intruders."

"How did I not know about this?"

Ino rolls her eyes. "Um, because we weren't friends yet? I've crawled with Shika and Chouji in my diapers, Sakura. Of course they'd know. Besides, no clan wants to publicize that their clan head's children were almost kidnapped. Nobody outside of our clans knows about this besides the Third Hokage."

"Oh."

Ino smacks her. "Hey, don't get all gloomy on me. I'm telling you everything now, aren't I? I expect you to do the same for me. Anyway, why?"

"What?"

"Why the sudden question about Shika's scar?" Ino widens her eyes. "Don't tell me..."

"No, it's not like that, Ino," Sakura groans.

Ino waggles her eyebrows. "Oh?" She asks, grinning.

Sakura glares at her.

"Alright, alright, chill," Ino says, pouting. "I'm obligated to keep an eye out for Shika. He's practically my brother. Can't have you breaking his poor little misogynistic heart, can I? Besides, you're still in semi-denial about Sasuke."

"Am not," Sakura protests, suddenly realizing that her ex-teammate hasn't crossed her mind in ages. Her mind is more filled with thoughts of training, the exams. Ino. Her soulmate.

It's unsettling how much things have changed within a year.

Ino ignores her. "Seriously, we had such bad taste back then," she muses. "Not that we still don't have bad taste. Well, you more than me. Heh."

"'Back then' was only a few months ago, Ino," Sakura points out.

"Mmm, was it? It feels like ages ago. Man, I feel old."

"We're only sixteen, Pig."

"Yeah, but we used to be fifteen." Ino sighs melodramatically. "But back to the original question. Why the sudden question?"

Sakura shrugs, a little uncomfortable. "I think he wanted to make a point about why he doesn't trust me," she finally says.

"Oh, yeah. Shika's pretty old-fashioned," Ino says. "You know. 'The enemies of my allies are my enemies,' that sort of thing. He might have watched too many of Daddy's yakuza movies."

"I think it's more than that, though," Sakura says, now belatedly understanding Shikamaru's actions.

 _Trust is never easily given, especially for the second time_ , Shikamaru's voice reminds her inside her mind. That is, if she had truly been Ino's friend, she would have never abandoned her. If she had truly been Ino's friend, she would have had the courage to stand in the face of death for Ino, the same way Shikamaru had.

Instead, in a desperate bid to win the heart of a boy who had lost the ability to love long, long ago, Sakura had discarded Ino's friendship as if it was worth nothing more than a passing thought.

It's no wonder Shikamaru had no faith in her.

"Huh. Well, that's between you and him. I can't do anything about it, sorry," Ino says, casting a sympathetic glance at her friend. "But best make up with him sooner than later. Shika's the type to hold grudges."

Unfortunately, Sakura doesn't see Shikamaru when she meets Team Ten for practice the next day.

He doesn't appear for the next training session, nor the one after that.

"Shikamaru? He's on another mission," Asuma says when Sakura asks him after practice. "He won't be back until Friday."

Of course, with her usual luck, it is on the day that Shikamaru returns that Sakura receives a message from the Hokage to meet with her in her office.

She doesn't end up repairing her relationship with him until much, much later.

* * *

"I'm pulling you out of group training with Team Ten," Tsunade says without preamble. She takes a look at Sakura's pale face and sighs."Don't overthink it, Haruno. It's just a routine shuffling around of personnel." Tsunade takes another swig out of the jug, muttering about peas and pods under her breath.

Sakura waits until the Hokage finishes her love affair with the bottle.

"I'm assigning you to a regular partner for missions from now on," Tsunade finally tells her. "Mostly B-ranked milk runs, nothing too dangerous. You will be training with them regularly instead of with Asuma's team, so do try to get along. We'll resume our training sessions once Shizune gets back."

"What kind of person are they?" Sakura asks warily.

Tsunade hums. "Infuriating," she says cheerfully. She gives Sakura a grin full of schadenfreude. "I don't envy you in the slightest."

"Gee, thanks," Sakura says, unable to hold back her sarcasm. The Hokage gives a surprised bark of laughter.

"I knew there was a reason I liked you," Tsunade says. She gives Sakura a crooked smile before assuming a sterner expression. "You will be meeting your mission partner tomorrow at 2pm sharp, by the gates. It'll be a quick journey to one of our military outposts north of Konoha; you can pick up the mission briefing downstairs. Understood?"

"Yes, Tsunade-sama."

Tsunade makes a displeased sound and takes another swig straight out of the jug. "The one thing that Naruto does better than you is to act his age," she says, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. "You sound older than the snot-nosed brat you are. Not that it's a bad thing, but still."

"...Sorry."

Tsunade grunts. "Never say sorry when you don't have to."

"Understood, Hokage-sama."

Tsunade waves a hand dismissively. "None of that stuffy Hokage-sama nonsense either, from now on. I can't stand it when Shizune does it." She shudders. "That girl is pure evil, I tell you." When Sakura looks at her blankly, Tsunade huffs in amusement. "You're allowed to call me shishou, brat."

"Shishou? But that means..." Sakura trails off, confused. Then her eyes slowly widen. "You're recognizing me as your apprentice, right? I mean…right, shishou?"

Tsunade just snorts. "I thought you were quicker on the uptake than that, Haruno," she says. "Now, shoo."

When Sakura exits, the Hokage contemplates the empty sake jug in her hand, mulling over what had happened an hour earlier.

* * *

 _Tsunade presses a seal under her desk. A lithe, masked figure wearing a grey flak jacket and black, skin-tight clothing poofs out of nowhere in the middle of the room. They kneel when they see the Hokage._

 _"Hokage-sama."_

 _"Tell Wolf to come to my office," Tsunade orders. "Quickly, this time. I have another appointment in twenty minutes."_

 _"Understood." The figure inclines their head respectfully before promptly disappearing in a cloud of smoke. Within moments, another figure materializes out of thin air, wearing a similar porcelain mask and the same, nondescript clothing as the first one. Whereas the first person had a slighter, more androgynous build, making it difficult to determine their age and sex, the second person was clearly a full-grown man._

 _The man bows towards Tsunade. "Hokage-sama." Tsunade scowls._

 _"Nothing good happens when I guess right," she says, giving the figure a disapproving look. "You're supposed to be on sick leave, not back in the field. What do you think you're doing, brat?"_

 _"Work," the figure replies without missing a beat. He sounds detached, bored. If Tsunade didn't know any better, she would have been fooled by the man's blasé attitude._

 _"Which I explicitly told you not to do," Tsunade growls, fighting the urge to chuck the empty sake jug at the man's equally empty head._

 _"With all due respect, Hokage-sama, Konoha needs every able-bodied shinobi it has to maintain the borders," the man says, unfazed. "Even our current forces are not enough."_

 _Tsunade slams her fist against the desk. "Are you telling me how to do my job, brat?" She growls._

 _"Not at all. I am merely stating the facts as I see them."_

 _"Then listen closely, because I will not say this twice. Yes, our forces were decimated after the Suna invasion, and yes, our borders are currently unstable. But unlike my predecessors, I do not want a workforce too burnt out to realize that they're working themselves to death."_

 _The man stands his ground, however. "I will not stand by idly while others die," he says mulishly. "I can still fight."_

 _Tsunade scoffs. "Your martyr attitude isn't helping anyone. In your condition? You would be putting the lives of your subordinates in danger," she says._

 _The man persists. "I can still fight," he repeats._

 _Now Tsunade really, really wants to throw the jug at his head._

 _"Look, brat," she says, curbing her need to massage her temples. "You are far more useful to me alive than dead. In. Peak. Condition." She watches him closely, and is slightly crestfallen when the man doesn't seem to react to her words._

 _Blockhead._

 _She gives up on trying to persuade him and sticks to her preferred method. She had always been better at ordering people, anyway. If this idiot had one merit, it was his blind loyalty to his country and to his comrades._

 _"For the sake of your mental and physical well-being, I am hereby taking you out of Anbu and reassigning you to a new position," she tells him crisply. "That's an order from your Hokage."_

 _The man doesn't say a word, but Tsunade can see his shoulders tighten._

 _"May I ask what this position entails?" He asks levelly after a brief moment of silence._

 _"Courier services to military outposts," Tsunade informs him. "B-ranked. My apprentice will be your mission partner, so if you run into any problems, just let her know. She's almost fully trained to be a medic-nin." She chuckles. "Smart as a whip, that one. A little insecure, but I was like that too, at her age."_

 _"Shizune-san?"_

 _"No, the other one," the Hokage corrects him. "Haruno Sakura." She notices the man visibly stiffen. "Do you have a problem with what I said just now?"_

 _"…No, not at all," the man says after a brief pause. "I was just…surprised. I did not know that Sakura was now officially apprenticed to you."_

 _"Just formalized it today," Tsunade says brusquely. She narrows her eyes."Now, stop beating around the bush, and say what you want to say."_

 _The man sighs."Haruno Sakura is too easily swayed by her emotions. Her skills are mediocre at best. I am afraid that she will prove to be a liability rather than an asset on the field."_

 _"She may have been a liability on the field two years ago, yes," the Hokage agrees. She leans forward."But not anymore. I've watched her these past few months, and she's grown more than I ever anticipated. Of course, a few weeks of proper training definitely saw some improvements."_

 _The man winces but Tsunade mercilessly continues._

 _"I know, I know. Your plate was full with the boy and the Uchiha brat, and on top of that, Hiruzen gave you a civilian-born to take care of. Compared to the other two, Sakura, understandably, was not high priority. But honestly, would it have killed you to teach her a few more basic skills?" Tsunade says irritably. "I had to teach her Academy level taijutsu from the very beginning, for kami's sake. Frankly, it's a miracle the girl even made it out of her first chunin exam alive and in one whole piece."_

 _The man inclines his head in apology, but doesn't say a word._

 _"Give her a chance this time," Tsunade advises. "She'll surprise you. She's a good kid, Hatake,"_

 _When the figure obstinately remains silent, she sighs._

 _"Meet your mission partner tomorrow at 2pm in front of the gates. Don't be late."_

 _"…Understood," the man finally replies._

 _"Dismissed."_

* * *

Sakura stares at the figure slouching against the gate in mute disbelief.

"Infuriating," Tsunade had said. Sakura couldn't have said it better. It's the word that comes the closest to describing Hatake Kakashi, the Copy Ninja, former jounin teacher, and Sakura finally realizes, with an awful, sinking feeling in her gut, who her mission partner is.

Kakashi-sensei dog-ears the page he's on before tucking the garishly orange book in his hand into his fanny pack. When he finally looks up and notices her, he raises his hand in recognition, as if the last time they'd seen each other is a few days ago instead of the seventeen months, nine days, five hours and thirty-two seconds it actually is.

"Yo, partner."

* * *

 **AN: I really wanted Kakashi to come out, so it's a double update for today! ^^ I rushed to write this chapter, so if there's anything that confuses anyone, just let me know in the comments below!**


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